New Tithing Van

Some time ago, I introduced you to our $300 van. We bought it out of desperation when our poor truck died. How can you go wrong for $300? We figured if it would last that winter, it would be worth it. Well, it lasted the winter. In fact, it lasted nearly 2 years. What a miracle! We affectionately named it the “tithing van” because we knew it was a true blessing from our Heavenly Father that allowed us to get by for a while. ElGirlo was able to take it back and forth to work and run small errands with it. We hauled many things in it, and towed trailers, etc. It was a good van. Yep I say, “was.” The ball joints went out on it, making it quite unsafe to drive. We still took it around town at slow speeds, but we have been quite concerned. The problem was, we didn’t have the money to replace it.

Then some miracles happened. The Lord opened the window to allow us to look into fixing the van. We got some estimates. We discovered it would cost more than $1,300 just to get it safe again. I figure the transmission is on its way out, and the engine isn’t looking too good. It’s got about 200,000 miles on it. I figure it’s put in its time.

So, we decided to look at buying a different hunk of junk and run that into the ground. Yup, that’s just what we do… (as you can tell from past posts). Well, for that small amount of money, there aren’t a lot of options. I looked at several vehicles, but didn’t see anything real great (as you can imagine).

Then, we saw it… the proverbial vehicle that is real old, but has been meticulously cared for by an old lady. Seriously, this lady babied her car. It is a 1995 Nissan Quest minivan. It only has 123,000 miles on it. It came with 4 brand new snow tires and 5 brand new all-season radials. It is in such good shape. Seriously, it is so nice. And the price tag? Only $1,600!!! (That’s just $300 more than we would have paid to fix the tithing van.)

We called on it and found out several people were scheduled to come and look at it. It was located in a mountain town about an hour and a half away from us. I called Friday night at 6 pm. The owner was not keen to show it to us that night, but I insisted. She agreed that if I could make it there by 8 pm, she would allow me to test-drive it. But, she would not sell it to us until everyone who wanted to had a chance to see it. Then she would decide who was most worthy of bringing it home. She wanted a family that would give this van a good home. I wondered if this was an automobile or a puppy dog. Anyway, we jumped in the car and literally sped away. We barely made it on time.

The older couple that was selling it was from Germany. They were a bit eccentric, to say the least. But, they were extremely sweet and hospitable. They fell in love with our kids and showered them with popsicles and a couple of toys.

I went for a ride in the vehicle. I told them that if they would let me, I would buy the van right then. To my surprise, they agreed since ElGirlo and the boys had charmed her while I was test-driving the van. She made us promise to keep her angel mirror ornaments in the van and even asked us to speak to the angels and the van every time we got in it. We smiled and promised to keep the angels in the van. (I didn’t say where we’d keep them. And I was careful not to promise to talk to them or the van.) We finalized the deal Saturday morning and—Yay! We have a new tithing van!

While we were speaking to the German couple, they discovered that we are Mormons. They are interested in the church. We were more than happy to answer their questions and invite them to hear more. They agreed. We exchanged contact information and we will keep in touch when she returns to Germany. I really hope they discover the truth, because they are just genuinely good people.

I want to thank some wonderful family members for making it possible for us to buy this van. You know who you are! I don’t know how to begin to thank you.

I thought you’d get a chuckle out of the ad this sweet German lady put on Craig’s List, so here it is:

1995 NISSAN QUEST GXE MINIVAN” seeking for a new owner! Here are my Story: · Model VG30E 1995 Quest GXE MINIVAN U.S.A. · 6-cylinder, V · Gloss paint, metallic dark blue · Front and rear body color impact absorbing bumpers · 3door Minivan · Mileage: 128.000 · Summer and Winter garaged · 7 seats (front seat center armrest); Cloth seat upholstery; Seat belts · Stereo audio system with AM/FM, 4 Speakers, Diversity antenna · Air Condition · 4 Steel Road wheel 5-1/2-JJ x 15 · Tire size P205/75R15 /97S; with 4 Winter tires · Plus 5 extra Season tires + 1 Spare tire and many many more Features… As you can see from the picture, I’m a clean car, there are no big damage on me, only some little stress marks. My all over condition is good. My lady bought me 2nd hand 2004 in Florida. I do not remember the treatment of my 1st owner. Since that time I caused never a crash, never any troubles nor problems to my elderly lady who really cherish and maintain me through Winter and Summer and the most important, she “speake” to me every day, by visiting me in my privat “home garage”. I like it very much! Now I’m very sad because she is returning to Europe and for my big dimension, I have no place in her container, therefore I’m for sale. If you like to buy me, please feel free to contact my lady by phone or e-mail her any time. asking price is US$ 1.672.00 Or B/O (best offer) Thank you so much for your attention.